Blockchain

Blockchain and Bitcoin

A blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of data records hardened against tampering and revision.

It consists of data structure blocks—which hold exclusively data in initial blockchain implementations and both data and programs in some of the more recent implementations—with each block holding batches of individual transactions and the results of any blockchain executables. Each block contains a timestamp and information linking it to a previous block.

The blockchain is seen as the main technical innovation of bitcoin where it serves as the public ledger of all bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer; every user is allowed to connect to the network, send new transactions to it, verify transactions, and create new blocks, which is why it is called permissionless. This original design has been the inspiration for other cryptocurrencies and distributed databases.

The blockchain consists of blocks that hold timestamped batches of valid transactions. Each block includes the hash of the prior block, linking the blocks together. The linked blocks form a chain, with each additional block reinforcing those before it, thus giving the database type its name.

We’ve stopped trusting institutions and started trusting strangers

Something profound is changing our concept of trust, says Rachel Botsman. While we used to place our trust in institutions like governments and banks, today we increasingly rely on others, often strangers, on platforms like Airbnb and Uber and through technologies like the blockchain. This new era of trust could bring with it a more transparent, inclusive and accountable society — if we get it right. Who do you trust?

Rachel Botsman is a recognized expert on how collaboration and trust enabled by digital technologies will change the way we live, work, bank and consume.

Why you should listen

Rachel Botsman is an author and a visiting academic at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School. Her work focuses on how technology is enabling trust in ways that are changing the way we live, work, bank and consume. She defined the theory of “collaborative consumption” in her first book, What’s Mine Is Yours, which she co-authored with Roo Rogers. The concept was subsequently named by TIME as one of the “10 Ideas that Will Change the World” and by Thinkers50 as the 2015 Breakthrough Idea.

Named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, Botsman examines the growth and challenges of start-ups such as Airbnb, TaskRabbit and Uber. She is regular writer and commentator in leading international publications including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, The Economist, WIRED and more. She is currently writing a new book that explores why the real disruption happening isn’t technology; it’s a profound shift in trust.

What others say

“Without buying into the shallow potential of the latest fad, be that Twitter or Facebook, Botsman takes a more intelligent long view of how technology will change the terms on which people live and work.” — Monocle

Bettina Warburg : How the Blockchain will radically transform the Economy

Filmed June 2016 at TedSummit

Say hello to the decentralized economy — the blockchain is about to change everything. In this lucid explainer of the complex (and confusing) technology, Bettina Warburg describes how the blockchain will eliminate the need for centralized institutions like banks or governments to facilitate trade, evolving age-old models of commerce and finance into something far more interesting: a distributed, transparent, autonomous system for exchanging value.

Bettina Warburg is a blockchain researcher, entrepreneur and educator. A political scientist by training, she has a deep passion for the intersection of politics and technology. Full bio

What others say

“Bettina’s talk about blockchain was one of the most insightful and clear explanations of this new technology that I’ve seen. The tech is abstract and exotic, but she makes it concrete and familiar. Most who see it will get it.” — Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of WIRED

Blockchain Demystified

Published on 2 Nov 2016

The world’s first easy-to-understand explanation of blockchain.

How the Blockchain Works

Published on 9 May 2016

Ignore Bitcoin’s challenges. In this interview, Don Tapscott explains why blockchains, the technology underpinning the cryptocurrency, have the potential to revolutionize the world economy.

Don Tapscott, a leading theorist of the digital age, explains why the blockchain technology will fundamentally transform the institutions our societies are built upon. Because the blockchain technology powers the digital currency Bitcoin, it will not only affect how business is being made, but also our legal systems. Ultimately, the effect of the blockchain technology will be much more farreaching; it will also transform governance, healthcare, education, and various other pillars of our societies.

The Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology Explained

A block chain is a transaction database shared by all nodes participating in a system based on the Bitcoin protocol. A full copy of a currency’s block chain contains every transaction ever executed in the currency. With this information, one can find out how much value belonged to each address at any point in history.

Bitcoin might fail but the blockchain is here to stay – Full WIRED Retail talk

IORMA Innovation Hub : Payments

Bill Gates interview: How the world will change by 2030

MasterCard MasterPass: Transforming Digital Payments

Published on 24 Feb 2013

MasterCard is making digital payments more seamless and secure with MasterPass from any device, anywhere for one simple experience. As consumers are becoming more connected, the digital world has transformed shopping; making every device a shopping device.